


can you hear me? i'm not coming home.

by catgenderclover



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (its a brief ment), 5+1 Things, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Parenthood, made this to cope w puffy disowning dream, no beta we die like ghostbur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28794198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catgenderclover/pseuds/catgenderclover
Summary: can you hear me?i'm not coming home.do you understand?i've changed my plans.or, five times puffy's duckling followed her, and one time she followed her duckling.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy & Clay | Dream, Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Niki | Nihachu & Clay | Dream
Comments: 25
Kudos: 542





	can you hear me? i'm not coming home.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Captain and her Shadow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28552707) by [Aenqa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenqa/pseuds/Aenqa). 



\- 1

it started off subtle, not something she noticed at first. a loaf of bread being stolen from her chests, one of her overcoats going missing, the quiet sounds of footsteps behind her. she never tried to call out for whoever was following her and taking her things– she was sure if they had malicious intent, she’d be hurt by now. and, besides, what sort of mean thief bolts the minute she turns around?

eventually, it becomes part of her schedule. checking her chests for what little had been stolen, placing new items to make up for the bread and apples going missing, lying out some other treats that she hoped the thief would take. bread and apples didn’t cost much– whoever was stealing clearly didn’t have enough to support themselves.

and by the way the footsteps sounded, light and quick, there was no way it was an adult. it had to be a child, an adult would make much more noise, and wouldn’t be able to bolt away so quickly.

to her relief, when she opened the chest, the cookies and loaves of bread she’d left out in a very obvious place for the child to take were gone. good. at least she knew they were eating something.

\- 2

the only time she gets a small glimpse of the thief that’s been following her around everywhere for at least a few months is when she’s in the bakery with her girlfriend, niki. the two of them are discussing the price of macrons when niki stops, looking behind her. puffy chuckles at the expression on her face, raising an eyebrow. “what’re you lookin’ at, niki?” she asks, and turns around to see.

she catches a small glimpse of a young boy, no older than nine or ten, frozen behind her as he clutches a loaf of bread close to his chest, wearing the red overcoat he stole from puffy. before she can call out to him, or get a good look at his face, he turns on his heel, and he bolts away, almost breaking the door in his haste.

puffy smiles fondly as she watches him bolt away, turning back around to her girlfriend. “yeah. he kind of just…does that?” a shrug. “he’s been following me around for a few months now. i’ve never got a look at him until now, though.” 

niki raises an eyebrow, playfully pushing her shoulder. “he’s your duckling! he follows you around everywhere, and he takes your bread. sounds like a baby duck to me.” she coos, and puffy laughs, adjusting her hat, but she smiles when she's home.

duckling, huh? niki was right, he did just follow her around like a baby duck and take her food. so, instead of calling him the tiny thief, she calls him duckling.

\- 3

it takes a full year since duckling first showed up for him to show himself around puffy. she doesn’t need to hear his footsteps, or see the trailing shadow behind her to know her duckling is behind her. it becomes somewhat of a constant, duckling following behind her as she does her duties around the village.

eventually, at one point, she turns around while stocking the bakery for niki, and he doesn’t bolt. he still doesn’t seem keen on talking, however, just staring up at her.

he wears a large green hoodie, it practically goes down to his knees. it’s torn and tattered, and so are his jeans. the only thing that looks well taken care of is the red overcoat he’d stolen from puffy, the garment huddled over his shoulders in an effort to keep out the bite of the winter.

it’s obvious he doesn’t have a home, but she doesn’t want to break the shaky trust by asking him if he was okay.

so, instead, she just hands him the loaf of bread he was trying to take from her pocket. he takes it with shaky, wary hands, occasionally looking up at puffy, who just gives him a gentle nod. once it’s in his hands, he clutches close to his chest, like he’s scared of it being taken away from him.

puffy isn’t sure what to say, but she knows he isn’t ready to talk yet. and that’s okay.

“hey, duckling. that’s probably not your name, that’s just what i call you, since, you know. you kinda follow me like a duck. that’s okay, though! i don’t mind. it’s nice to have company.” she hums softly, talking to fill the silence.

“if you don’t know by now, i’m captain puffy, but you can just call me puffy. i protect this little village!” giving him a beaming smile, her heart melts when she sees a shaky smile creep up his lips. that’s progress!

for the rest of the day, he follows her while she does her work around town, occasionally clutching onto the back of her pirates jacket when it gets too crowded. 

and, as always, by the time she reaches her small cottage where she and niki resided, he’s gone when she turns around.

she hopes he has a bed to sleep on.

\- 4

it’s been two months since she was able to talk to duckling, and he hadn’t bolted, which she took as a sign of progress. so whenever she has to do her work or help niki bake, she talks in the meantime to entertain the young boy, giving him stories of her time spent out on sea, and the more domestic stories of her and niki. he doesn’t trust niki as he trusts puffy, but he’ll follow her around too.

eventually, through head shakes and nods, she learns a bit more about the boy. apparently, he’s only 7. he doesn’t know his birthday, only the fact it was summer, he thinks. after a few more rounds of questions, offering bread for when he looks tired, she finds out some more. he can’t write, and he doesn’t like to talk. he had a little sister, who went missing. that makes her heart ache. 

(she keeps an eye out for any missing child posters that look anything vaguely like her duckling. she finds nothing.)

through a system of pointing and head movements, she lets him ask her questions.

though, sometimes, the communication barrier is an issue, he asks her a few things. 

the things are pretty simple to answer, like how old she was, was niki her boyfriend, (she explains the concept of same gender relationships to him, which he just nods in understanding.) if she was a pirate, and why she was a captain.

by the time night approaches, and she gets up, she wants to stop, ask him if he has a place to spend the night, if he wants to take the guest room in her cottage, but he’s gone before she can even blink. her duckling really was an enigma, huh?

\- 5

she almost thinks she’s misheard him when she hears his voice for the first time. she’s chatting idly as she sits on the grass hill the bakery lies on, food set out for him to take as they talk. eventually, in the quiet space, he looks up, and he seems to be struggling for a moment. 

eventually, when the words do come from his mouth, her heart squeezes, heavy in her chest. 

“thank you, mom.” 

she would’ve never thought of herself as a maternal figure, but it’s been almost two years of this homeless kid following her and her girlfriend around, stealing their bread and getting attached.

she blinks away the tears, and she gives him a fond smile, chuckling as she ruffles his hair. 

“of course, duckling. anytime. you know i’m always here for you. you– you always have a place with me and niki, okay? if you ever need a place to… you know, sleep.”

he nods in understanding, smiling softly to himself as he munches on a cupcake niki had baked for their picnic.

once the sun starts to set, she stands up, cleaning away the crumbs as she looks fondly at her duckling.

surprisingly, he bolts forward, and wraps her legs in a hug. puffy freezes, but leans down to his height, hugging him back. “i’ll see you tomorrow, okay? i’ll be going back to the east village to do trades, i know you find it fun.” she chuckles, and he beams. it was true, he loved to do trades with puffy. she’d hold him up, so he’d be tall enough to reach the counter, passing emeralds and other goods for items.

(she wouldn’t let go, she would’ve asked if he wanted to stay the night more, if she knew that was the last time she’d see her duckling in years.)

\+ 1

it’d been a good ten years since then, and yet, every day, she’d come out of her cottage, and look around for any sign of her duckling. however, to her dismay, he never showed up. she didn’t like thinking about the possibilities– especially the fact that he could, very well, be dead.

she sobs with niki for hours after the first week he goes missing, clutching her hair as she wipes at her eyes. she could've done more. she should've walked him to where ever he slept that night. this was her fault.

sure, her duckling wasn't her son, but he had called her mom. he had leaned onto her and niki for safety and food for over 2 years. it hurt as if, well, a mother had lost their son. 

niki had been reconnecting with one of her old friends, wilbur, she thinks his name is, and she’d suggested the idea of moving to their nation, in an SMP. she was a bit hesitant at first, SMP’s were very… crowded, and scary areas sometimes. but she weighed the options, and decided that yeah, maybe a fresh start would be good for her and niki. this could also mean more business for niki’s bakery, and that made her happy.

just incase, she leaves a note on the counter before she leaves.

‘duckling, if you wish to come find us, me and niki have moved to a place called l’manberg in the dream smp. 

with much love, captain puffy.

ps. please let me know you’re okay if you see this. i miss you’

the place isn’t as crowded as she thought it would be, which makes her slump in relief. everyone has settled their share of land, and it seems everyone gets along quite well. there was the overall dream SMP land, where the admin, dream (what kind of name is that??) george and sapnap lived, then there was l’manberg, which consisted of their president, wilbur and vice president tommy, tubbo, fundy (who was wilbur’s son??), technoblade, some dude named philza minecraft, and now herself and niki. there was also the badlands, which was badboyhalo, antfrost, skeppy, and awsamdude? who were naming these people?

she and niki settle down on a small hill where they put the bakery, and the two of them live in a nice house, commissioned by wilbur, apparently. she does make sure to give thanks to him. 

everyone here has a very… bold sense of personality, and everyone seems friendly enough. they’re a pretty democratic nation, and apparently they have community meetings with the other nations. it’s set in a place called the community house, which she’d seen breifely when passing to l’manberg or eret’s castle.

her and niki show up, it being their first one as the citzens of l’manberg welcome them with waves and bright smiles. puffy hums as she chats with tubbo, talking about the people coming. apparently the admin, dream was coming? the way tubbo described him made him sound big and scary, and she supposed he could be right.

once everyone’s there, dream and his two friends walk in last. 

dream clears his throat waving a hand. “alright, alright. are we all here? this is the fo–” he then stops dead in his tracks, staring down puffy behind his mask.

puffy blinks, before her eyes widen and she takes a step back, a hand coming to her mouth. 

no, that– that couldn’t be him. he was dead, wasn’t he? 

“duckling?” she whispers, softly, her voice breaking. dream blinks, fidgeting with the same green hoodie as he clears his throat. before he can say anything, puffys tackling him in a hug and cursing him out at the same moment. 

“duckling! you fucking– i thought you died out there! it’s been ten years, duckling! where have you /been/?!” she chokes out, swatting at his head. huh. the mask was new.

he squeaks, huffing. “i just– it’s a long story, mom.” he mumbles, and the room reels back.

“mom???”

“HEH?”

“i thought you were an orphan?”

“dream, what the fuck, you never mentioned a /mom/!”

dream raises a hand to get the crowd to settle down, sighing as he runs his hand down his mask. “it’s a long story. we can talk about this after the community meeting, okay? now, attendence,” 

after the meeting, puffy cries in niki’s arms, who’s equally as happy to see him. 

he’s alive. her duckling is alive.

and for the first time in awhile, she feels like she’s truly home.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, comments fuel my soul!! ty <3


End file.
